News from down the country

national | environment | news report Monday December 15, 2008 03:21 by Contaminated Crow

Waste,a quarry, waste, a powerplant, waste, a missing planning file and more waste

Local residents staged a one-hour protest over the weekend at Hackballscross, Co. Louth and held a public meeting on December 9th over concerns that buildings erected by local landowner Paul Devlin will be used to store waste. Mr. Devlin has previously applied for planning permission for a resource recovery facility in November 2005, December 2006 and March 2007: the first two applications were refused and he withdrew the third application. Frank Woods, spokesperson for the Hackballscross Residents’ Association, said there was ‘a lot of anger in the area about the project’. (Dundalk Democrat 10/12/08, p.13).

Local residents welcomed the decision by An Bord Pleanala to refuse permission for retention of quarry operations at Cleevagh, Cong, Co. Mayo but expressed concern that Mayo County Council, who were aware of the quarry’s unpermitted operations over the past four years but took no enforcement action against the quarry operators, may not enforce the decision. A spokesperson for the Residents’ and Landowners’ Committee of Creevagh Cong said : ‘It seems to me that the enforcement section of the Planning Department is grossly understaffed and some developers know that they can continue to operate even though they have no planning permission. The direct result of this in Creevagh is a lot of limestone pavement area in a priority habitat under the EU Habitat Directive has been destroyed. The area also hosts an ecologically-valuable, historical, semi-natural woodland, associated with the geology and landscape of the site.’ (Mayo News 9/12/08, p.4).

A group of local residents are appealing to An Bord Pleanala against a decision by Offaly County Council to grant permission to Guessford Ltd. for a waste transfer facility at Coolraine, Tullamore, Co. Offaly. Larry Lynam, chairperson of the local group, said ‘We believe that the development would set a precedent for similar industrial developments in rural areas and would have a serious impact upon the rural environment of the immediate area’. Concerns about water pollution from the project stem from the site being located beside the Silver river and between the acquifer of the Rahan Public Water Scheme and the Tullamore Public Water Scheme. (Tullamore Tribune 10/12/08, p.1).

Local residents of Stackallen and Gormanlough, Navan, Co. Meath have expressed opposition to proposals by the Viridian group to set up a power plant, including two oil storage units, in the area. Tommy Maguire, chairperson of the Stackallen/Boyne Action Group, said the group would meet this week to review the proposals. Local resident Sinead Burke said ‘Yet again, the people of this area are under siege from big business trying to put heavy industry into rural communities where they are not suitable. You can’t turn in this part of the county without meeting an incinerator or industrial plant that sticks out like a sore thumb. Royal Mushrooms got the shock of their lives when they tried to muscle in on this community –Viridian are going to get the same.’ Royal Mushroom was refused permission for a poultry compost facility in the area last year. (Meath Chronicle 13/12/08, p. 1).

Wexford County Council has ignored local objections and granted planning permission to Greenstar for a ‘materials recovery and transfer facility’ at Clovass, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. Residents may appeal the decision to An Bord Pleanala. (Enniscorthy Guardian 10/12/08, p.12).

Meath County Council has called in the gardai to investigate the disappearance of the 2001 planning file relating to the Indaver incinerator at Duleek, Co. Meath. The file was last seen in October by local anti-incinerator activist Pat O’Brien who copied some maps and other documents and asked for further information on other material on the file: ‘They [the files] disappeared after that’ said Mr. O’Brien, who has suggested that the incinerator is being constructed at an incorrect location, a suggestion denied by Indaver. Local Fine Gael TD Shane McEntee said ‘It is my opinion that all works should stop until this matter is cleared up. The bottom line is there is no doubt that the site identified on the original notice is not the site for which planning permission was granted.’ (Meath Chronicle 13/12/08, p.3).

Cork environmental group CHASE welcomed the publication a report on the Irish Ispat site at Hawlbowline island, noting the report showed high levels of chromium and lead in shellfish and elevated concentrations of mercury, arsenic and nickel in water samples. Noting the irony of the publication of the report at a time when the near-collapse of the pork industry showed how dangerous a small amount of dioxin and PCBs can be, a CHASE spokesperson said ‘Our seven-year campaign against a hazardous waste incinerator proposal next to Hawlbowline educated us as to the effects of such environmental pollution. Both contaminants were found on the Irish Steel site and are by-products of incineration.’ (Southern Star 13/12/08, pp.1.1,1.5).